Apple's Jony Ive and Marc Newson design special edition Leica M

Jony Ive, design mastermind at Apple, and Marc Newson, the creative force behind the thoroughly unconventional Pentax K-01, have collaborated with Leica to design a special edition Leica M for a good cause. The unique M will be sold at auction, at an event raising money for The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The one-of-a-kind camera is the product of 85 days' work and nearly 1000 prototype parts.

The finished result is a good deal more restrained than Newson's last attempt at camera design, and betrays Ive's obsessive focus on details which is usually showcased in Apple's line of computers and mobile devices. But despite the eye-catching brushed aluminum shell and rounded accents, the finished camera is still unmistakably a Leica. What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments.

Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson to join more than 40 rare and exceptional objects in (RED) Auction at Sotheby’s New York

Money raised through the (RED) Auction will go towards the fight against AIDS in Africa

A truly unique Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson will join more than 40 other rare and diverse items in the (RED) Auction on November 23rd 2013. Based on the Leica M, the camera will be auctioned to raise money for The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Hundreds of models and prototypes were made in the development of The Leica M for (RED). The body and lens ultimately being machined from a custom engineered alloy. Presented with a perfectly textured anodized aluminum outer shell, the traditional leather waist, synonymous with Leica, has been replaced with a laser machined aluminum body. More than 21,000 hemispheres create a new and extraordinary aesthetic, while a total of 561 models and nearly 1000 prototype parts were made during the 85 days it took to create of this incredibly special camera. Delivering an uncompromised photography experience, the camera features a full-format CMOS sensor, high performance processor and new Leica APO-Summicron –M 50mm f/2 ASPH lens.

Jony said; “Leica represents the confluence of precision engineering, world-class lens technology and design principles which elevate both function and form. Designing this very special camera for the (RED) Auction has been a privilege for myself and Marc, and its sale on November 23rd will generate funds so critical to the fight to end AIDS.”

"With nearly 1000 prototype parts and more than 725 hours of manufacturing time, the winning bidder will own a piece of exquisite imaging history. The attention to each and every detail of this camera – from its outer shell to the magnificent optics – will delight a collector who appreciates the absolute pinnacle of craftsmanship", said Marc Newson.

Dr. Andreas Kaufman, Chairman, Leica, said: "We loved the collaboration with Jony and Marc. Their design sets a new and unprecedented standard in modern photography. As the only one ever to be produced, and boasting their unrivalled aesthetic, this Leica camera will truly create its own historic category when it goes under the hammer this winter."

The fundraising auction comes as the war against AIDS faces a critical battle: to deliver the first AIDS Free Generation since HIV was diagnosed 32 years ago. In 2003, new childhood HIV infections peaked with more than 1,500 babies born with HIV every day. For only 40 cents a day, mothers can be treated to prevent transmission to their unborn children, and just over 900 babies are now born daily with the virus. By 2015, that number can be almost zero.

Comments

Hmmm...It looks like a triumph of design (as in styling) over function to me. The flush/recessed control dials would, I imagine be difficult to find and use accurately when the camera is held to the eye. Similarly, the placing of the buttons on the back would appear to mitigate against their easy and fast use when the camera is held to the eye.

I have a number of pairs of Leica binoculars, and they are lovely to use, but sadly, this camera doesn't do it for me.

Quite correct, your English is lousy. As written, "nearly 1000" means less than 1000. "No fewer than 1000" on the other hand means 1000 or more. Your version is the opposite of what you thought your were correcting. Oh, and a trashy piece of bling, not beautiful at all.

@epo001 Biowizard wasn't correcting "nearly 1000" at all, he was correcting "no less than" from the first paragraph. As it happens, it's an idiomatic usage which isn't incorrect, though normally Biowizard would be quite right. But epo001 you have pointed out a factual contradiction where the article initially states more than 1000 prototype parts, then subsequently that it was fewer than 1000.

Doesn't look like anything special to me. This man gets way, way too much credit. Heck, I even read all the time how Ive supposedly created the iPod when that's simply not true. Tony Fadell is the creator of the iPod. He led the design and production of the iPods.

Ive is not the only designer at Apple. Many people at Apple have had their ideas incorporated into the design of Apple's products, such as the engineers, especially as products got thinner and lighter. Lets face it, Steve Jobs had the most influence on final design and would not have allowed some of the poor design choices Ive made for iOS 7, such as ridiculously thin and hard to read default fonts and blinding white backgrounds. I don't think he would have went for the plastic iPhone 5C either when the current iPod Touch looks far better and more higher end.

No offense to the guy, I'm sure he is competent leading a design team, but lets dispense with the misinformation and especially the hype surrounding him.

Substantially wrong. Tony Fadell took the 'idea' to Apple where he became chief 'development' officer of the iPod division. The design of the iPod was Ive's work as head of design. Yeah, Jobs would have hated plastic for a phone and never allowed it...oh wait...they did do a plastic iPhone...under Jobs.

You don't know what you are talking about. I suggest you do *plenty of reading* on the subject to avoid some of the misinformation you often run into, typically from those wishing to put Mr. Ive on a pedestal.

"Yeah, Jobs would have hated plastic for a phone and never allowed it...oh wait...they did do a plastic iPhone...under Jobs"

Try and think a little deeper than that; iPhones have greatly evolved. Try and think of the here and now. Steve jobs would not have allowed a current iPhone to look lower-end lower compared to the iPod Touch . The iPhone 5C is a fine phone but when you compare it's level of finish to the iPod Touch, it simply does not compare, and that's an understatement.

Marc Newson really should not be allowed near any manufacturer he's the guy who came up with the hideous Pentax K-01 what should of been a great ILC to a laughing stock that Pentax had to heavily reduce and discontinue it with in a year !!!!

Don't get me wrong, as a camera it's great. i just don't like the look and many felt the same. i just feel if they had taken a leaf out of Olympus or Fuji's design books it would of been a masssve hit. I said the same on the Pentax Forums and many agree, could you imagine the K-01 looking a bit more like the fuji x series or olympus pens with those lovely limited lens?

Well.. 85 days work, at around $5K per day I'd say, just for labour fee, + special parts, + 500 prototypes ... I believe the initial call would be between 200K-300K, with , say, 30K-50K increments per bid , to make a decent figure for the caritative aspect ,so maybe they are looking at results around the $1,000,000 mark. Could be more, but who knows, the design is kind of dull. Given it's a unique piece, collectors will flock.

Love or hate the design, but it's for charity, so who cares as long as it does the trick of garnering money and exposure for the good cause!

Unfortunately though, judging by the comments, nobody seems to think twice about that aspect. In fact, the cynical side of me can't help but think that neither did the designers - for them it's most probably just another way to get exposure for themselves/their companies... Makes me think of something Jay Leno once said: "In America, we like everyone to know about the good work we're doing anonymously". But well, let's just hope that there's some crazy rich people around that will gladly part with heaps of money so that some people can be helped...

Please. Don't pretend your somehow righteous. Your all about bagging people who missed the good cause thing but the designers who put time in for the cause are attention seeking mercenaries? You don't have a "cynical side". You have a douche nozzle side.

The facts: - the press release clearly reads like advertisement for the designers and Leica- only 16 out of 127 posts here mention the good cause, the others just declare "love" or "hate" for the product, often with bitching either way

Greg is on the mark. Ive has been quoted about being upset that Steve Jobs would take credit for the design of Apple's products. After watching many product announcements from Jobs I never once saw him do that. On the contrary Jobs was always saying we and referring to the company as a whole.

What's my point? That designers tend to really crave exposure and recognition, and that often times that becomes more important than designing the best and most useful design.

The fact is, there is nothing special, at all, about the design of this camera. In fact, the design is awful when it comes to the kind of controls phorographers want and need. This is definitely a case of form over substance. The other problem is that the form itself looks awful. I'm sure most serious amateur and professional photographers on this site could have done a much better job.

The K-01 made a lot of sense. Most photogs can't even begin to use the complex control functions built into most DSLR's today. The K-01 is like a muscle car from the 1960's, it is all engine with little embellishment. The K-01 has an outstanding APS sensor the rest is basic.

Ugh! people don't get itGuys this is a revolutionary design !!No replaceable battery or memory card!All in an uni-body design. ;-)Its called Dysfunctional Minimalism.If you dont know what that means try to unplug those notoriously slippery Apple USB cables!

I agree and I disagree. K-01 is the only Pentax body I decided to keep for my K-mount lenses and I find its design excellent. It's not as ergonomic as it could be but I don't use a camera for its great ergonomics but for taking photos and this is an inspiring -not utilitarian- camera to handle. A Leica is not particularly ergonomic either, really. But I do agree that sometimes so-called designers make abominations, uninspiring pieces of fluff, to attract attention for various reasons. By the way, this Leica is not departing from the standard Leica design much anyway... K-01 was a radical design, on the other hand.

I think it is absolutely beautiful. It looks more Ive's design than Newsom's - Ive's products are all about minimalism.We know it is a product for a worthy good cause. Even while I think it is beautiful it would be too minimal for normal production - no flash contact, no distance markers on the lens would be shortcomings in usability, sacrificed for purity of shape. But in this case they didn't need to be hindered by practical concerns.I think it would be great to see them working further on an eventual production version. If this was a camera for Steve Jobs he would consider it an interesting step halfway in the design process. He would probably ask to make a mesh texture that doesn't trap dirt and will be grippy, for example.But it sure shows what fresh thinking can do with a classic camera concept. In a way I am reminded of Colani's then futuristic Canon T90 which also pushed camera design forward (it was the first camera with the design wheel and really fluid forms);

or Giugiaro's (I think) Nikon F3 which looked so much better than other cameras in 1980.This is a lovely exercise in minimalism.

By the way, I am one of the few who loved Newsom's Pentax design, I found it appealing with great ergonomics. I don't have a Pentax but thought it was a breath of fresh air, hindered by the fact that it had to accept Pentax's normal lenses, so the body couldn't be made svelte.

I am living in a ritzy hotel room designed by decorators and architects who never had to LIVE in this uncomfortable and ill-designed place... try living with your "artistry" before unveiling it! Ditto for most special camera designs. It will not be the replacement for the M9 so go ahead and make them for rich folks to feel good about buying. Hey, how about a camera to raise money for cancer or Alzheimer's? You have not control over those problems... using a condom or avoiding needle-drug addiction will prevent AIDs.

Not really... the whole damn place is "designer" -- seen this problem in too many hotels trying to be "world-class" -- another guest at this hotel broke her fingernails trying to get the drawers to open and another had to call the front desk to find out how to use the faucets in the sink! Oh, and the shower built for two with six rain head/shower nozzles has a drain built for ONE! I actually found my recent stay at a Holiday Inn Express to be a bit more comfortable! I Still think the camera sucks ;o) -- and YES, I couldn't bring myself to bid on it even if I could afford it!

Jony is a cool guy. He's clever, creative and conceptually in a league of his own, and I'm a big fan. Messing with Leica, however, is where he should have drawn a line. Not everything in life needs the Ive treatment.

As a lifelong Leica user, I believe the M series—at least the classic M-cameras, not the overly-expensive, underperforming digi-M's—are as close to perfect as possible in both design and functionality. But an Ive redesign of the venerable Leica M is nothing more than a status symbol for the fabulously wealthy, those who should already be contributing freely to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis... without getting something fancy in return. It's something the fortunate few will likely put on a shelf, never having shot a single photo.

I'm fairly certain that a camera FOR art is why Leitz optician Oscar Barnack invented the 35mm still camera in 1923, not a camera AS art.

None of the M cameras were underperforming for their release date. They have moderately competent sensors and basic but tried-and-tested functions. Someone who wants an M will not go and buy a 5dmk3, though the output quality may be similar

More about gear in this article

Leica announced two new M-series rangefinders at this year's Photokina, in addition to the Digital M-P released last month. The German company also unveiled a new medium-format S, which as well as high-resolution stills can capture 4K video. Naturally, we headed over to the Leica booth to get our grubby hands all over the new cameras. Click through to see more.

Leica has released a firmware update for its M Typ 240 camera with a huge list of improvements and bug fixes. Firmware 2.0.1.5 adds a few new interesting features such as expanded Auto ISO options and the ability to use live view with any lens. The new firmware is available now. Read more

Leica has placed a teaser on its Facebook page for a new 'Mini M' camera to be launched on June 11th, that apparently will slot into its range between the M rangefinder and the X2 fixed-lens compact. It's given no other details, but we think it could make sense for the company to produce a full-time live view version of the M Typ 240, using the same sensor but with the expensive rangefinder assembly removed. This would result in a 24MP full frame mirrorless camera that would be able to use almost any manual focus SLR or rangefinder lens ever made, without a field-of-view crop.

Leica has announced the Oskar Barnack Award 2013 international photo competition will open for entries from January 15th, with a first prize worth €15,000 (~ $19,400). The 2013 winner will receive a Leica M digital rangefinder and lens in addition to a €5000 (~ $6500) cash prize. To enter, participants need to submit a portfolio of up to twelve images expressing 'the interaction between man and the environment.' In addition, the Newcomer award, open to photographers under 25 years of age, offers a Leica rangefinder camera and lens as the prize. Submissions are open until 1st March 2013.

Latest in-depth reviews

The Fujifilm X-H1 is a top-of-the-range 24MP mirrorless camera with in-body stabilization and the company's most advanced array of video capabilities. We've tested the X-T2's big brother extensively to see how it performs.

Panasonic's Lumix DC-GX9 is a rangefinder-style mirrorless camera that offers quite a few upgrades over its predecessor, with a lower price tag to boot. We've spent the weekend with the GX9 and have plenty of thoughts to share, along with an initial set of sample photos.

Panasonic's new premium compact boasts a 24-360mm equiv. F3.3-6.4 zoom lens, making it the longest reaching 1"-type pocket camera on the market. We spent a little time with it; read our first impressions.

Latest buying guides

Quick. Unpredictable. Unwilling to sit still. Kids really are the ultimate test for a camera's autofocus system. We've compiled a short list of what we think are the best options for parents trying to keep up with young kids, and narrowed it down to one best all-rounder.

Landscape photography isn't as simple as just showing up in front of a beautiful view and taking a couple of pictures. Landscape shooters have a unique set of needs and requirements for their gear, and we've selected some of our favorites in this buying guide.

If you're a serious enthusiast or working pro, the very best digital cameras on the market will cost you at least $2000. That's a lot of money, but generally speaking these cameras offer the highest resolution, the best build quality and the most advanced video specs out there, as well as fast burst rates and top-notch autofocus.

Are you a speed freak? Hungry to photograph anything that goes zoom? Or perhaps you just want to get Sports Illustrated level shots of your child's soccer game. Keep reading to find out which cameras we think are best for sports and action shooting.

At this year's CP+ show in Yokohama, we sat down with senior executives from several major manufacturers, including Canon. Topics of conversation included Canon's ambitions for high-end mirrorless cameras, and the importance of responding to the demands of the smartphone generation.

We were recently able to follow local frame builder Max Kullaway as he created one of his AirLandSea bikes. Here are our picks of the photos we got, as the project progressed from bare tubes all the way to rideable bicycle.

On paper, the Sony a7 III is a tempting option for photographers who've been considering a switch to full-frame mirrorless. But how does its image quality stack up? We compare it to the Mark II and a few of its other peers.

Google Lens uses artificial intelligence and 'computer vision' to identify and provide information about businesses, landmarks and other objects using your phone's camera. And now it's available for iPhone users, too.

In the job posting, the Times' describes this role as "one of the most important and high-profile jobs in visual journalism." If you're looking for a high profile job in photojournalism, you could do a lot worse than being Photo Director at The Gray Lady.

According to a recent report out of South Korea, Samsung is increasing production of its ISOCELL image sensors in a bid towards market leadership for image sensors. To reach this goal, Samsung will have to dethrone current market leader Sony... no small task.

In this video, large format photographer Ben Horne shows off the incredible resolving power of 8x10 slide film by pixel peeping a massive 709.6-megapixel drum scan of one of his landscape shots. And you thought 100MP medium format was big...

Photographer Wendy Teal tells the heart-breaking story of a wedding she shot at a hospital on just 24-hours notice. The mother of the bride had been given one week to live, and Wendy responded to the couple's desperate social media plea for someone to capture their special day.

Syrp has announced the Magic Carpet Pro: a slider that offers filmmakers an 'infinitely extendable' range thanks to built-in track levers that let you connect lengths of track without the use of tools.

At CP+ we sat down with executives from several major manufacturers. Among them was Kenji Tanaka, of Sony, who talked to us about the a7 III as well as its plans to attract more pro shooters – without ignoring APS-C and entry-level customers.

How do you shoot macro photography on an 18x24cm large format wet plate camera? You 'connect' two large format cameras together! That's how wet plate photographer Markus Hofstaetter did it, and you can read about the whole process in this article.

The Fujifilm X-H1 is a top-of-the-range 24MP mirrorless camera with in-body stabilization and the company's most advanced array of video capabilities. We've tested the X-T2's big brother extensively to see how it performs.

Motorsports photojournalist Jamey Price recently flew to Canada with Lamborghini for the car company's Winter Accademia 2018, where clients get to drive the latest Lamborghini supercars on snow and ice. Yes... it is exactly as awesome as it sounds.

For the Pixel 2 smartphone's Motion Photos feature, Google built on its existing Motion Stills technology by adding advanced stabilization that combines software and hardware capabilities to optimize trimming and stabilization.

"After his camera was stolen from his room in the orphanage, he switched to an iPhone for his photography, reasoning that the image quality of a big, heavy camera was less important than the freedom of a cell phone. 'Quality? Screw it, I’d sketch things with a pencil if I could draw,' he wrote in a blog post."

Chinese manufacturer Vivo has announced some AI-powered Super HDR tech to compete with Google's HDR+ system. Both systems combine multiple images to create a final shot with more dynamic range and less noise, but Super HDR claims to do so more intelligently.

The 'semantic image segmentation model' categorizes every pixel in an image and assigns it a label, such as “road”, “sky”, “person” or “dog.” And now, Google has released its latest version as open source, making it available to any developers whose apps could benefit from the tech.